Star Shark wrote:I'm not sure what I learned yesterday at Sylmar. I threw two rounds. One with my full bag, wherein I shot +4. The other, as an experiment, in which I only threw my Icon Clutch. During the 2nd round, I shot -2. What that tells me, I have no idea other than triples are bad, mmkay.

It tells me you're probably over-thinking your shots. That, or your choosing less-controllable discs where more control is needed but then, that might just be a product of over-thinking the shot.

Star Shark wrote:I'm not sure what I learned yesterday at Sylmar. I threw two rounds. One with my full bag, wherein I shot +4. The other, as an experiment, in which I only threw my Icon Clutch. During the 2nd round, I shot -2. What that tells me, I have no idea other than triples are bad, mmkay.

It tells me you're probably over-thinking your shots. That, or your choosing less-controllable discs where more control is needed but then, that might just be a product of over-thinking the shot.

The course is fairly short. I don't throw much faster than Patriots and Rivals on it. My form just sucks lately. I could have been 5 under with just the Clutch there. Had 2 unnecessary bogeys and missed a 17' birdie putt (granted there was a thick tree in the way).

Been working on my BH for about a year now, it's gotten a lot better but i still had some release issues. Tried moving my thumb a bit more towards the edge of the rim the other day and boom, consistent, smooth releases. Was so pumped. Now I feel like I can start trying to throw with more than 60-70% power and get past the 275ish mark w my leopards.

Where on the Leopard is your thumb relative to the wing/flight plate transition? Leo is not a hard but not the easiest driver to release cleanly. Normally slip issues tend to arise the closer the thumb is toward the outer edge of the disc so some get help from moving the thumb toward the center from the wing/flight plate transition. Much in means slower arm whip from too tight muscles slowing down the arm movement. Too much thumb in toward the center can be a problem for clean releases.

Flat shots need running on the center line of the tee and planting each step on the center line. Anhyzer needs running from rear right to front left with the plant step hitting the ground to the left of the line you're running on. Hyzer is the mirror of that.

No matter what putting style one uses a sharp end acceleration helps and adds a lot to putting accuracy.

Just like in ball golf. I'm a scratch player too, and just like on those downhill 5-footers, you still have to accelerate through the ball, or in the case of disc golf you have to let the disc spring out of the fingers. Otherwise you will pull your putt (left in golf, right in DG).

The best putters are decelerating in golf at impact, or reach maximum speed (no acceleration or deceleration) at impact. Trying to "accelerate through impact" is one of the worst ways to putt - distance control becomes an issue.

Not a disc golf post, except to say that it's another way in which comparing two sports doesn't really work.

Not sure if this has been mentioned on here yet, but I have recently learned to throw under stable plastic on a extreme heizer line. It is a fun and pretty shot to watch. I usually do it with my blizzard wraith or katana. It is a good shot for going over or around tress. And still get distance. The shot will slowly flip flat or close to flat and then penetrate forward. It eventually fades back to the center of the fairway if I am throwing it off to the right (RHBH).

JR wrote:Where on the Leopard is your thumb relative to the wing/flight plate transition? Leo is not a hard but not the easiest driver to release cleanly. Normally slip issues tend to arise the closer the thumb is toward the outer edge of the disc so some get help from moving the thumb toward the center from the wing/flight plate transition. Much in means slower arm whip from too tight muscles slowing down the arm movement. Too much thumb in toward the center can be a problem for clean releases.

Before my guess is that it was about 45ish degrees from parallel. Parallel being in line (as possible) w the rim of the disc. Now it sits parallel w the rim, just barely inside of the inside edge of the rim. This seems like it just where it should be and I just wasn't paying any attention before.

45 degrees is severe but depending on the disc and hand size one or two thumb widths inside of the seam is ok. It reduces the nose down pushing chances.

Flat shots need running on the center line of the tee and planting each step on the center line. Anhyzer needs running from rear right to front left with the plant step hitting the ground to the left of the line you're running on. Hyzer is the mirror of that.

I bought a bunch of golf towels at a resale shop, paid a buck or less each. Darn pleased with them.

A golf towel is just a hand towel (hand towel refers to a size). The cotton towels which work best are the oldest, most beat up and thread bare. I used to get new plush towels that looked and felt nice didn't absorb well. Now I let someone else buy them new and beat them up for me.

For many backhand players any towel is fine. Being forehand dominant, I have trouble with grip and need towels which dry completely. A shammy doesn't absorb well enough. The microfiber ones are decent but attract too many burs. A big stack of old cotton towels lets me change towels frequently and helps diminish exposure to poison ivy too.

The newest thing I have learned that has helped my game is a new philosophy for casual rounds. When playing casual focus on skills not scores. If you stop worrying about trying to PR and worry more about learning a new shot, you scores will start dropping without even noticing. This has played a big role in my putting. I used to miss short so in practice rounds I started focusing on accelerating my disc more while putting, and at the start I missed a lot of putts, but after a while I got more accurate, and it helped in the end. The main thing is to stick with it. It is easy to shoot a bad score and get discouraged and go back to your comfortable shots, but you will never get better practicing shots you already know. Branch out of your comfort zone, because you never know when that new shot will come in handy.

Rhbh. leaving my left leg on the ground longer gives it a chance to actually do some meaningful work which lead to a better understanding of the concept "separation" between legs, hips and torso. Combining this and focusing on the weight of the disc and active wrist extension resulted in more accurate distance in the woods.

I actively dislike sunlight. I walk from shade to shade and wear big floppy hats. The fashion police have never been happy with me anyway. When I throw a shot I take my hat off. On a drive there is no real choice. Either I take the hat off or it flings off my head and lands in the dirt. On a putt the hat bothers and distracts me and Lord knows I already have enough problems with putting.

So when I take off my hat I perch it on my bag (or cart, though of late I have reverted to the bag and camp chair combo). But how to attach it to the bag? Like for long walks down shady fairways or even for shots where the bag is on a sidehill and I don't want the hat sliding off and tumbling into the dirt?

I drilled a small hole on the back brim of the hat and attached a small caribeener which easily hooks and unhooks to the bag or cart. A small pleasure of life. But if you aren't going to get major pleasures then small pleasures are there to be appreciated.

While briefing over this thread I may have missed this suggestion, but anyway. In my return to disc golf, in Mi., in January, I have been using Blistex on the problem areas of my hands, and it has prevented cracking. It does take some rubbing it in, and of course you want to remove it from the grip areas of your hand (I never use it within a few hours of a round).